Community Meeting Tonight In Crawford On Future Of Ponderosa Villa Nursing Home And Assisted Living

    The board of the Ponderosa Villa Nursing Home and Assisted Living in Crawford is hosting a public meeting tonight at 6:00 in the Community Building on the Villa’s future. 

      Administrator Stephanie Huffman is quick to reassure residents and their families the Villa isn’t closing now, but does have problems.

Huffman says the Villa took a tough 1-2 punch from COVID-19, losing residents and – more importantly – losing staff, especially certified nursing assistants or CNAs.

Ponderosa Villa pays agencies between $45 and $70 per hour for CNA, better than 3 to 5 times the starting pay of its own CNAs. 

      Huffman says the villa did receive some federal COVID relief funds, which helped a lot at the time, but faces on-going revenue issues because occupancy is down about a third from capacity. 

Crawford contracts with a private firm Rural Health Development, for management services – including Huffman’s position. She says its president will give an overview of the situation to start tonight’s meeting.

Huffman says area residents interested in becoming CNAs can become certified through a short online course.

The Crawford Community Meeting on Ponderosa Villa starts at 6:00 in the Community Building.